Home for the Homicides
- Judith D Collins
- Jul 15
- 8 min read
Updated: Jul 17
The Holly & Mark Mystery Series
ISBN: 9781250413352
Publisher: Minotaur Books | St. Martin's Press
Publcation Date: 10/13/2026
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
'Tis the season . . . for murder.
A "Hallmark movie with a side of murder,"
"The festive, quirky love child of a holiday whodunit and a steamy romance.” —Sara Raasch
When Special Agents Holly Frost and Mark Shepherd report to the idyllic town of Christmas to investigate a very less than idyllic murder, they’re in for more than the average whodunnit.
Welcome to Christmas, a town so cozy and charming it could be the backdrop of a Hallmark movie, where crime is never in season and it’s the holidays all year round. So when a tourist is found stabbed to death by an icicle ornament in the middle of the town nativity scene, the local police are out of their depth—after all, how do you find a criminal in a town where crime doesn't exist?
The stakes are high: the whole town is relying on Holly and Mark to solve the crime before the annual Jingle Bell Jubilee festival (which naturally the town's entire economic survival relies on), plus, whichever of them cracks the case will receive a promotion to Major Crimes—and there's only one spot.
Holly and Mark are both on thin ice after screwing up on the job. This assignment is their one shot at redemption, if they can put aside their bitter rivalry. And of course, it's not only their careers on the line, it's their hearts, too—regrets of their holiday party hookup last year haunt them like ghosts of Christmas past, so they both want to wrap up this rom-com gone wrong as quickly as possible. But with just twelve days until the festival, the countdown to catch a killer—without killing each other—is on.
Co-authored by New York Times bestseller Elle Cosimano (Finlay Donovan series) and USA Today bestseller Hannah Morrissey (Black Harbor series), Home for the Homicides is a sexy, light-hearted romp, with a dash of merriment and murder.
Praise
“A pitch-perfect blend of enemies-to-lovers tension, holiday chaos, and murder most merry, this is rom-com mystery at its finest. Smart, sexy, and wildly fun—we devoured it!”
—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners
“Home for the Homicides is a delightful and charming mystery. Equal parts twisty, romantic, and hilarious, this book begs to be devoured in one sitting, preferably with some hot cocoa and Christmas cookies!”
—Amy Tintera, New York Times bestselling author of Listen for the Lie
“Move aside Santa Claus and present piles, Home for the Homicides is now the most fun you can have with Christmas. Morrissey’s edgy sharpness combined with Cosimano’s talent for humor create a hilarious, propulsive, and surprisingly sexy murder mystery that comes out swinging (lovingly) for all of our most beloved tropes. This book is so pitch-perfect, so addictive, so dang fun that it deserves a place in the holiday canon.”
—Ashley Winstead, USA Today bestselling author of The Future Saints
“If you like your Hallmark Christmas movies with a side of murder, Home for the Homicides is the festive, quirky love child of a holiday whodunit and a steamy romance. Yule have a holly jolly good time!”
—Sara Raasch, New York Times bestselling author of The Nightmare Before Kissmass
“Home for the Homicides is a holiday present wrapped in a clever mystery! Fun, twisty, and sexy, I raced through this like a kid unwrapping their presents on Christmas morning.”
—Catherine Mack, USA Today bestselling author of This Weekend Doesn't End Well for Anyone
“Holly and Mark are the bickering, bantering, sexual-tensioning, crime-solving duo of my dreams! The town of Christmas is almost too idyllic to be believed—you're not even supposed to drop an f-bomb, much less kill someone. But when rivals Holly and Mark pair up to solve the picture-perfect town's first murder, they end up learning a lot more about each other than just the case. Delightfully zany with clever meta nods to all the favorite tropes of mystery and romance, this genre mash-up is a true gift.”
—Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers
“Home for the Homicides is *not* your grandma's feel-good holiday Christmas movie—it's Knives Out, dressed up as a killer elf for the Hallmark holiday special. This F-bomb dropping, panty-dropping, body-dropping rollicking murder mystery will have you singing Ho-Ho-Homicide all season long.”
—Olivia Blacke, Anthony Award-winning author of A New Lease on Death
“If you love Hallmark Christmas movies, but find yourself thinking, ‘This could really use more sex. And cussing. And, I don’t know, maybe a dead body?’ Have I got the book for you! Equal parts sizzling rom-com and twisty murder mystery, Home for the Homicides is the genre mashup of my dreams and a holiday must-read.”
—Mia P. Manansala, author of the bestselling Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series
“This breezy holiday whodunnit is much, much more than meets the eye. From its crackling romantic tension to its self-aware chaos, this story of a murder in America's tackiest tourist trap is fun enough to last me until next Christmas.”
—John Fram, AKA Jack Friday, author of The Bright Lands and Killer Vibes
My Review
THE ICICLES ARE SHARP, AND THE COUNTDOWN TO THE FESTIVAL IS ON.
"A deliciously sexy, zany, and fast-paced romantic holiday thriller that turns a picturesque town into a high-stakes countdown for survival."
In Home for the Homicides, bestselling authors Elle Cosimano and Hannah Morrissey deliver a delightfully zany, fast-paced, and wildly seductive holiday cozy-noir romantic comedy mystery. The story hinges on two fiercely competitive, bickering special agents navigating immense professional and interpersonal hurdles to catch a brutal copycat killer inside a picture-perfect, ultra-traditional Christmas town.
Hallmark holiday romance charm vs. cold-blooded festive murder.
"Two bickering special agents on thin ice are forced into an undercover partnership to solve a bizarre nativity-scene homicide."
An undercover redemption assignment at a seasonal festival turns into a terrifying waking nightmare when a tourist is stabbed to death by an icicle ornament, forcing two rival agents into a frantic race to find the killer before they destroy the town—and each other.
Elevator Pitch
A punchy, holiday-themed romantic suspense novel where two rival special agents on thin ice are sent to a crime-free, Christmas-obsessed town to solve a bizarre nativity-scene murder, competing for a single promotion while dodging the ghosts of their own romantic past.
Review Breakdown
Intro: Special Agents Holly Frost and Mark Shepherd are bitter rivals, and both are desperate for career redemption after hitting a major professional slump. The ultimate prize—a single available promotion to Major Crimes—tracks straight to their newest assignment: the aggressively festive and crime-free town of Christmas. When a tourist is discovered stabbed to death by an icicle ornament directly inside the town's public nativity scene, local law enforcement is entirely out of its depth. Holly and Mark must team up under strict orders. Still, as the 12-day countdown to the town’s economy-saving Jingle Bell Jubilee begins, they must hunt down a killer while dodging the lingering romantic tension of a disastrous holiday party hookup from the previous winter.
New Series
Book 1 in the Holly & Mark Mystery Series establishes a brand-new, deliciously fun, and steamy collaborative sandbox for the two beloved crime fiction authors.
Setting
The deceptively pristine, sweet-smelling, and hyper-traditional holiday fishbowl town of Christmas, where swearing is actively frowned upon, but a killer is quietly stalking the unpaved local squares.
Vibe
Sassy, light-hearted, and dripping with banter. It feels like the cozy, small-town seasonal warmth of a Hallmark movie colliding with the sharp, witty meta-paranoia and chaotic comedy of Finlay Donovan and the gritty edge of Hannah Morrissey.
Genre
Holiday Romantic Comedy / Cozy Whodunit Mystery / Romantic Suspense
Themes
~The Comedic Friction of Enemies-to-Lovers Rivalry
~The Commercialization and Illusion of Festive Sanctuaries
~Career Redemption Over Intense Professional Vulnerability
~The Complicity and Hidden Grudges of Small, Insular Communities
Standout Characters
~Holly Frost: The sharp, ambitious, and deeply defensive special agent who uses witty banter to guard both her professional reputation and her fragile heart
~Mark Shepherd: Holly’s fiercely competitive, brooding rival agent whose laser focus on the Major Crimes promotion masks a serious lingering fixation on Holly.
~The Town Elite: A highly eccentric group of Christmas organizers and festive shopkeepers whose entire financial survival hinges on keeping the public murder under wraps.
Author Writing Standout
Having read all of their solo books, Hannah Morrissey's trademark edgy sharpness and Midwestern noir atmosphere marry perfectly with Elle Cosimano's legendary talent for zany, chaotic humor and addictive, rapid-fire pacing. Their collaborative prose is a total delight, managing a crisp, multi-POV timeline that plays into our favorite holiday tropes while subverting them at every single turn.
Takeaway
You cannot fully unwrap the truth of a community until you look past the beautiful packaging; sometimes the most idyllic holiday traditions hide the coldest grudges.
Title Significance
Home for the Homicides functions as a brilliant, tongue-in-cheek subversion of the classic "home for the holidays" sentiment—instantly signaling to readers that this festive escape features a high-stakes body count.
Metaphor
The icicle ornament weapon serves as a flawless metaphor for the town itself—seemingly clear, beautiful, and seasonal on the outside, but structurally rigid and capable of inflicting lethal damage when weaponized.
Why You Should Read
Having thoroughly enjoyed their previous books and their initial collaborative teasers, I can guarantee this is the ultimate, bingeable seasonal blockbuster read for fans who want their holiday romance served with a brilliant, clever side of murder.
My Thoughts
COSIMANO AND MORRISSEY DELIVER A FLAWLESS, FIVE-STAR HOLIDAY BLOCKBUSTER.
"An electric collaboration that seamlessly blends razor-sharp enemies-to-lovers banter with a propulsive, twisty winter whodunit."
The narrative pacing turns the screw with absolute perfection. The snappy, sexual-tension-filled dialogue between Holly and Mark kept me grinning from ear to ear, while the countdown to the festival created a genuinely frantic level of suspense. It is a deliciously fun, sexy, and smart mash-up that belongs on everyone's autumn stack. Can't wait for the next in the series!
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5).
"A flawless, five-star festive triumph that proves nobody handles collaborative holiday malice quite like Cosimano and Morrissey."
Recs
Read this if you devoured the Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano, Hannah's gritty twisty thrillers, Killer Vibes by Jack Friday (John Fram), Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum Series, A Killer for Christmas by Kim Harrington, or Sounds Like a Plan series by Dwayne Alexander Smith and Pamela Samuels Young.
Special thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for sharing an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Oct 13, 2026
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About the Author
ELLE COSIMANO is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, an International Thriller Award winner, and an Edgar Award nominee. Elle’s debut novel for adults, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, kicked off a witty, fast-paced contemporary mystery series, which was a People magazine pick and was named one of New York Public Library's Best Books of 2021. The third book in the series, Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, was an instant New York Times bestseller. Cosimano lives with her husband and two sons in Virginia.
HANNAH MORRISSEY is the USA Today bestselling author of the Black Harbor suspense series and other gripping works of crime fiction (coming soon!). Praised for their hauntingly atmospheric settings and gritty Midwestern realism, her novels have helped define a distinct subgenre: Midwestern Noir. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she studied English and Creative Writing, Hannah lives near Milwaukee with her husband and a grumble of pugs.
